Safe And Practical Cycling To School

Cycling to school can benefit pupils in many ways, from health and safety, to a greater appreciation of their neighbourhoods and the environment:

  • Cycling to school can easily help you get the one hour minimum of daily exercise recommended.
  • Regular adult cyclists have fitness levels of someone 10 years younger.
  • Physically active people have a 33-50% lower risk of developing type II diabetes compared with inactive people, as well as a 40-50% lower risk of colon cancer and a 30% lower risk of breast cancer.
  • Cycling a mile to and from school each day would save 15p a day in petrol money and burn 65 calories, which add up to 6 chocolate bars a month or 21 pizzas year!

You can work out how much you’d burn and save on your journey to school by using our Travel Change Calculator.

If you’re new to cycling or going back to it after a break, you will find some useful advice in our Getting Started section.

Getting the right bike

Cycling is most enjoyable and safest if you’ve got the right equipment. Take a look at our helpful guide to the types of bike you can buy and what uses and people they are best suited to.

Children are always growing, but getting the right size bike is also important so they feel most comfortable and are safe. Our age-size guide can provide a good basis, with a guide to adult bike sizes for older children also available.

You can get further advice from staff in local bike shops, whose experience can be used to get the proportions right, as well getting the bike set up correctly for the rider. We also have a Guide to Setting Up Your Bike.

Additional Equipment

Wearing a helmet is not compulsory, but if they are correctly sized and fitted they do provide excellent protection if you’re unlucky enough to have an accident. Make sure it’s specifically a cycle helmet and conforms to the EU safety standards EN1078 (for adults) or EN1080 (for children). Again, bike shop staff can provide advice on sizing and adjustment, or you can watch our helmet fitting video guide.

Lights on the front and back of the bike are compulsory when cycling in the dark.  We recommend adding a light to your clothing to increase visibility. The choice of clothing colour can also help you be seen, with high-visibility vests, bags and cycle clips on your ankles all available.

Other bits of equipment you might want to consider getting are a bell to warn other users of routes, mudguards to keep you and the bike clean, and a basic toolkit. For more information, go to our Essential Cycling Equipment page.

Bike Security

If good money has been spent on the bike itself, it’s also very much worth investing in equipment to keep it secure, with 10% of the price of the bike a common guide to buying a lock. The most secure system is to have a solid ‘D’-lock attaching the bike frame with a cable or chain lock attached to this and the wheels. For further information, go to our Bike Security section.